Understanding the features and forces of globalization based on the movie “Blood Diamond” (original) (raw)

JONATHAN KOROMA'S MASTERS THESIS.docx

ABSTRACT The topic of this thesis is the ‘Role of Mncs in Influencing West Africa Violent Natural Resource Conflicts: A Case of DeBeers and Rex Mining Company in Sierra Leone Civil War from 1991 To 2002’. In the current academic and Political paradigm, there are persistent intellectual writing towards the pool of natural resource conflict more especially in the axis of Africa and west Africa in particular. It has been one of the most interesting topic of analysis in the social sciences, in the humanities, and even in political discuss Scholars of natural resource conflict, has puts that most regions of this planet have experienced wars, but while many parts of the world have moved towards sustainable Socio-economic and political stability, sub-Saharan Africa remains a cauldron of instability and economic deprivation. This thesis focuses primarily on the impact of non-state Actors especial multinational Corporation in West Africa natural resource conflict with a special case study of Sierra Leone civil war. Where I captured the years from 1991 to 2002 with an establish, and generalize causal hypotheses. First, chapter one, has multiple features to relate a clear insight of my work. The thesis explains the concept of Conflict diamond. Conflict diamonds are diamonds mined or stolen by insurgent forces in opposition to the legitimate government. Insurgent groups sell diamonds to buy arms and obtain cash flow for their war effort. Commentators speculate that the conflict diamond trade comprises between four and fifteen percent of the world trade in diamonds. Conflict diamonds rooted from Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The thesis gives an introduction/preamble of the topic in question. My research assert that contemporary African natural resource conflicts have influence by non-state actors, together-with political, social and economic parameters. It shows the increased liberalization and expansion of international trade, which occurred in the aftermath of the Cold War, has exacerbated the level and intensity of violent resource conflicts in Africa, west Africa and Sierra Leone in particular. The research continues to critical study the dichotomy between political unrest and natural endowned resource. However, with a thorough study, I argue that the relationship between political unrest and the extraction of natural endowned resource sometime not so necessarily ‘clear cut’. Although, the notion that a country’s resource wealth does not necessarily lead to conflict, examples of such view are Norway, Canada, Botswana, south Africa and Chile. Yet on some contrary lenses, resource rich countries do appear to be more attractive to conflict/ political unrest than resource poor. For instance, countries which are absolutely depend on the export of natural resource as their primary commodities such as diamond, timber, metal ores, oil, and gas. Countries like: Nigeria, Liberia, DRC, Cameroon, Chad, my case study country (Sierra Leone) to name but a few have witnessed an acute violent civil war. The Sierra Leone resource conflict is the world’s worst war in recent time. The main question of this research work is: How did MNCs (DeBeers & Rex mining Company) influencing the diamond conflict which end up to be a protracted and violent natural resource conflict in Sierra Leone? Moreso, the main argument put forward by this thesis is, political ideologies do not motivate the occurrence of diamond conflict in Sierra Leone. Instead, its argues that the control of diamond rich area and production by non-state actors (Multinational Corporation) are the root causes responsible for the natural resource conflict in Sierra Leone. Because The revenue that the insurgents obtain from smuggling diamonds across borders allows them to buy more arms and to continue fighting. The objective of this work is to examine the extent MNCs influence or fuel the protraction of the violent resource conflict in Sierra Leone. The theoretical framework employ by this thesis is the concept of non-state actors inorder to comprehend cogent insight of the topic in discuss. As qualitative research, this thesis employs Process Tracing and case study analysis as a standard methodology approach which also captures the secondary sources to analyze its perspective. The thesis is organized in five chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction. In chapter 2, this thesis addresses the historical overview of Sierra Leone into two distinct aspects. Vis a vis the Origin and Political Events Sierra Leone by articulating descriptions of the sequences of events leading to the outcome of interest. In the historical point of view, Sierra Leone was founded by a famous Portuguese sailor named Pedro de Sintra. Sierra Leone politically known as the Republic of sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a relatively a small country, (with the area of 71, 740sq.km or 27,699 sq. miles) located on the West Coast of Africa. She is bordered by Guinea on the north, Liberia in the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. She has a population of approximately 7,075,641 million. Sierra Leone has played a significant part in modern African political liberty and nationalism, and became independent from the United Kingdom in 1961. Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area, which are subdivided into fourteen districts. Freetown is the capital. On the political platform, Sierra Leone has had a very chequered history characterized by repeated violent change of governments. Ten different Leaders have held the top and enviable position of Head of State and Government. Out of these, only six attained the position through democratic process of ballot box and elections. In chapter 3, this thesis starts by addressing the research question. The origin of DeBeers existence in Sierra Leone and critically examine how they influence the stalemate of the diamond conflict. To start-with, in the context of Sierra Leone, the diamond history emerged in 1935 when De Beers legally took complete control of the mining prospects in Sierra Leone for the next 99 years. Despite De Beers presence, Lebanese traders within Sierra Leone quickly discovered the immense profits made through the smuggling of diamonds out of the country. The petitioners’ assert that De Beers knowingly funded war crimes and crimes against humanity through this illicit trade of diamond to the insurgent group which created the complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. In chapter 4, this thesis systematically evaluates its second case inorder to enhance a solid answer put forward by the research question and to maximize a robust premise towards its argument. The key role of Rex mining company in the Sierra Leone civil war was influential which ended up fueling the protracted nature of the conflict. Morgenstern claim that, the Rex Mining executive, and the company's Antwerp-based president, Serge Muller, set up a company to sell weapons to the Sierra Leonean government and the insurgent. By poured weapons, trainers and fighters into Sierra Leone, backing both the government and the rebels in a bid to win cheap access to diamond fields. Finally, in chapter 5, This research concludes by claiming that the growing numbers/presence of MNCs and their influential tools and greater power enable them to pursue their interest. The recommendations posed by this research is to vehemently enhancing the improvement of human and economic security, as cogent elements of sustainable peace and to rebrand the diamond trade in sierra Leone, and west Africa in general.

A critical reading of Blood Diamond (2006) in the context of transnationalism

Between 1992 and 1999, Sierra Leone was engaged in a civil war which was blamed primarily on a ‘scramble for diamonds.’ This paper critically analyzes the related film Blood Diamond (2006) in order to locate the portrayal of Sierra Leone and of Africa in general in the context of transnationalism. In addition, the analysis seeks to understand how Africans and Westerners contributed to conflict diamonds. Reading the film via transnationalism indicates that African environments were compromised by colonialism. It also shows that transnational forces contributed to conflict diamonds – which resulted in wars and other atrocities. The implications of a colonial legacy suggest that Africans and Westerners (in)directly participated in blood diamonds.

" It can lift someone from poverty " : Imagined futures in the Sierra Leonean diamond market

A B S T R A C T This article aims to draw attention to the role of the future in artisanal mining. It argues that in order to understand the dynamics of artisanal mining, research must understand miners' imaginaries of a better future which inform their economic strategies in the present. Drawing on Jens Beckert's (2016) concepts of fictional expectations and imagined futures, the article investigates projections of the future and strategies of future-making in the Sierra Leonean diamond market. If these expectations remain poorly understood, development policies will not be able to address the needs of mining communities.

Diamond exploitation in Sierra Leone 1930 to 2010: a resource curse?

Abstract This paper uses the resource curse hypothesis to explore diamond exploitation in Sierra Leone during the period 1930–2010. Focusing on national and local level analysis, it examines whether the net impact of diamond exploitation was a ‘resource curse’ or ‘blessing’ during four time periods: colonial and early post-independence era, the APC era, the civil war period, and post-war era. The paper argues that the net impact of diamond exploitation in Sierra Leone has not been constant; rather it has changed between resource blessing and curse over different major periods of Sierra Leone’s history and at local and national scales since inception of diamond exploitation. This paper illustrates that during the period 1968–1992 patrimonial politics undermined official diamond exploitation and significantly contributed to a pendulum shift in the net effects of diamond exploitation from resource blessing to curse. The study shows that the net effect of diamond exploitation was: a resource blessing (especially at the national level) prior to 1968; more of a resource curse during the APC era; a full blown manifestation of the curse during the civil war period; and that governance of the diamond sector has improved sufficiently in post-civil war Sierra Leone to start the gradual transformation of diamonds to resource blessing, at national and local levels.

An Examination of the Sierra Leone War

This study is a historical analysis of Sierra Leone’s state structure in the 20th and 21st centuries. This period was marked by defective leadership and insatiable greed that created political failure at both the national and regional level. The absence of a long-term democratic leader, coupled with the lack of institutions aimed at guiding effective resource distribution enabled the gradual collapse of the state in the wake of independence. Appropriation of wealth and corruption slowly established a cleavage between the rich elite who were in the minority, and the impoverished, uneducated and malnourished majority who eventually took up arms against the state. The latter group bonded under the Revolutionary United Front/Sierra Leone (RUF/SL) banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002.

Can Limited Intervention Work? Lessons on Britain’s Success Story in Sierra Leone

Journal of Strategic Studies, 2016

Following frustrating campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, Western interventions are becoming more limited, with troops being deployed for short bursts and residual peace-building tasks being left to others. Whereas this approach limits exposure for the intervening government, it struggles to achieve meaningful political change. Examining the comparatively successful British intervention in Sierra Leone (2000-2002), this article identifies the conditions for effectiveness in these campaigns. It challenges the historiography of the case by framing armed confrontations and raids as enablers of politics rather as ends in themselves; indeed, both in the conduct and study of intervention, politics must reign supreme.